I think you will see discrimination in all kinds of places, including the courthouse, work place, school, stores, etc. And the discrimination is not just directed at blacks by any means. Black discrimination against other races is very real. And in communities where there are larger populations of blacks, you will see larger discrimination against other non-black races and ethnic groups.
What I do see too much so in lower income black communities is a mentality or acceptance of bad behaviors and a belief that government, schools, etc. should be responsible for resolving issues and that "circumstances" is to blame for all of the social economic problems. Basically, the welfare mentality and someone other than myself is to blame and needs to fix my problems. I'll compare this to my own ethnic background, which is Cuban-American. Most of the Cuban Americans who immigrated here pre-Communist Cuba have a strong work ethic, family values, a respect for democracy and value freedom in a way that most US born folks take for granted. Too many post communist Cubans immigrating basically feel that the government owes them and their role is to take as much as they can. The welfare mentality is in full force. They have little respect for this country, or for themselves for that matter. Granted, I am speaking in gross generalities, but living in Florida, where there is a lot of diversity with many cultures and races, and having worked for the government here many years and in different cities, I do have some experience.
What I am trying to say, is that being poor or deprived in and of itself does not equate to creating all the problems such as drugs, crime, unemployment, broken families, etc. Attitude and mentality, in my view, is everything.
I would consider my own family growing up as being rather low income. Both my parents were uneducated. My father joined the military when he was 17 where he served for 30 years (and in 2 wars) after which he served for 20 more years as a civil servant. Neither of my parents finished school, yet they had two children who never broke the law and were both put through college. I grew up in a neighborhood of mostly blacks and Hispanics, not a privileged white neighborhood. This neighborhood was low income, culturally diverse, yet, somehow I and my brother ended up as law abiding citizens and in a better economic position than my parents. I can't really say social programs, government, or schools had much to do with that result. Have I personally experienced prejudice, oh yeah I have, but that will take another long winded post.
